I like to look at stars. A lot. I will honestly stay up for hours just looking up at the stars. I actually just had a friend ask me why I always wanted to go stargazing, and this was my response. It may seem silly, but stars actually play a really big and important role in my life. Let me explain.
Now, for those of you who are actually reading this, I don't know how you feel about God, if you believe in one or not, and I don't want to use this post to force anything on you, just read.
Growing up, I was always taught that I was a daughter of God, a Heavenly Father who loved me more than my mortal understanding could ever come to grasp. While I know this to be true, occasionally, life throws dark storm clouds across our skies and sometimes it can be hard to remember just how much Heavenly Father loves us. Sometimes, when life gets hard, its easy to forget how important we really are.
That's where stars come into play for me. The reason that I like to look at stars is because they remind me of how special I am. When I look at them, I am reminded that out of all of his vast and innumerable creations, I am important to him. Heavenly Father knows me my name, He knows my hopes and dreams, and He knows best how to comfort me. He knows when I have reached my breaking point and He knows exactly when to send me help. I like to look at the stars because it comforts me to know that not only does He know how many stars there are in the heavens, but He also knows who I am, and He loves me so much, I am so important to Him, and that He will NEVER forget me.
During one particularly hard time in my life, I had lost sight of how special and precious I really was. Using one of his best tactics, Satan had lead me to believe that I wasn't anything important and my problems didn't matter. Why, compared to the entire world, and everyone in it, my problems didn't even amount to a speck of dust. So I went for a walk one night, just trying to find some peace anywhere, from anything. I remember that it was a cloudy night, and I was really upset that I couldn't see the stars. I felt like if I could just see one star, that for some reason, that would mean that Heavenly Father really did love me, and that things would be okay. I walked and walked, but there weren't any stars. Frustrated, I decided to return home, and as I reached my door, I turned around one more time, and to my surprise, the clouds were completely gone, and the night sky was lit up with the most beautiful stars.
Even now, no matter what happens, whenever I am feeling small and unimportant, when the world has pushed me to believe that I don't matter, I turn my eyes toward the heavens, and without fail, no matter how cloudy or stormy it is, Heavenly Father always shows me His stars. Even if it is one tiny star peeking out through the angry storm clouds, there is always one there, and I am always reminded of just how much He loves me.
